Inking mechanism for printing presses



RALPH S. TYLER AND HERBERT MoG-EORGE,

CHANDLER AN D PRICE COMPANY, OF

OHIO.

O'F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF INKING MEGHAN ISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

Application filed August 31, 1922. Serial No. 585,350.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RALPH S. TYLER and HERBERT 'MCGEORGE, citizens of the United States, and residents of Oleveland,'county of Ouyahoga, and State of Ohio, have jointly'invented a new and useful Improvement in'Inking Mechanism for Printing Presses, of which the following is a specificatiomthe principle of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which we have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

In U. S. Letters Patent Re. No. 14-,165, granted A. B. Carty under date of July 18,

1916, there is shown and described an ink fountain for platen presses provided with means for automatically transferring ink therefrom to the form'rollers as they pass over the ink plates; and in a patent subsequently issued to one of the present inventors. viz., No. 1,352,159, granted R. S. Tyler Sept. 7, 1920, there is shown and de scribed an improvement in such Carty ink fountain whereby it is rendered inoperative whenever the throw-off lever is swung to prevent contact between the platen and form. The present improvement is of a like character to that last mentioned, the object being to simplify the construction and render the operation thereof more positive in its character.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawing and the following description setting forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawing Fig. l is a side elevation of a typical platen or Gordon press equipped with a Carty ink fountain modified in accordance with our present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a detail of such fountain; and Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the parts appearing in Fig. 2.

The press, which is of familiar construction, is shown in dotted outline only in the drawing, said press comprising a platen 1 suitably supported on a frame 2 and an oscillatory form-carrying bed 3 that is swnug toward and away from said platen through the medium of cranks 4 and connecting rods 5. By means of a rock shaft 6 and suitable connections, comprising a bell crank 10 and a rod 11 extending therefrom to a lever 12 on an eccentric 13, the position of the bed may be shifted, so that, without interrupting its oscillation or, in other words, stopping the press, the form on the bed 3 does not con tact with the platen 1. This is a feature of construction regularly found in presses of the class in hand, it being frequently necessary to thus throw off the press if the sheet on the platen slips or is not properly adjusted in position. For the purpose of operating said rock shaft 6, a hand lever 7 pivotally attached to the side of the frame 2 is provided, said lever being connected by means of a link 8 with a lever 9 on said shaft.

The construction of the ink fountain proper need not be described in detail since it is essentially the same as in the patents referred to above, it being sufficient to note that it comprises a frame 15 suitably attached to the bed 3 at the rear of the ink disk 16 and overhanging the latter so as to leave ample clearance for the form rollers 17 as they are moved over said disk and the form bed by the oscillation of the roller frame 18, as need not be further explained. The ink is fed from the fountain through the medium of a roller 20 onto an intermediate roller 21 that is adapted to contact with the aforesaid'form roller, and the present improvements have regard more particularly to the means provided for rotating said roller 20.

These means comprise an arm 22 that is oscillatorily mounted about the shaft 23 of'roller 20, said arm carrying a pawl or dog 24 adapted to co-operate with a ratchet 25, keyed or otherwise fixedly attached to said roller shaft. The outer or free end of said lever 22 is connected by means of a rod 26 with the roller frame 18, so that as the latter oscillates to move the form roller back and forth across the disk and form, an oscillatory movement is at the same time imparted to said arm, and as a result, the dog 24 is caused to impart a step by step movement to the ratchet wheel.

In order to vary the extent of the rotative movement thus imparted to the ratchet wheel, a disk 30 is provided'adjacent its inner face, the diameter of such disk for a portionof its circumference'being equal to or greater than 'that of said ratchet wheel, so as to shroud the teeth thereon, and an eiitensibn 31 of said disk is formed with an arcuate. slot 32 through which passes a clamping screw 33 whereby said disk may be secured in adjusted position.

Adjacent the other face of ratchet wheel (the outer face, as shown) is a doublearm lever 35, one end of which is connected by means of a rod 36 with a lever arm fixed to rotate with eccentric 13 so that upon oscillation of the latter, said lever will likewise be oscillated. The connection of rod Stlwith said lever 35 is preferably a lost-- motion connection with a compression spring 38 interposed, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Integral with the lever is a disklike projection 39 that when the lever is rocked in a cloclnvise direction strikes against pawl 24 so as to throw the same into the position shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2, a stop lO on operating lever 22 serving to prevent said pawl from being thrown too far, while a spring pressed plunger 41, spaced a short distance from said stop, serves to retain said pawl from returning until itis positively released. Such release is accomplished when the movement of lever 35 is reversed by means of a pin 42 on its forwardly projecting free end that is disposed so as to strike the upper side of the pawl and thus force the same past the plunger 4:1. Said pawl, it will be noted, is

provided with an extension 24 whereby it may be conveniently operated by hand when desired. 7 p

The operation of our improved inking mechanism will, it is believed, be sufiiciently clear from the foregoing description of the construction and operation of its component parts. Byway of brief resume, whenever throw-off lever 7 is actuated to displace the bed 3 by rocking eccentric 13, the pawl 24: will be simultaneously thrown clear of ratchet 25 so as to be held inoperative by the plunger 41 Upon restoring the bed to its operative position, lever 35 will be rocked in a counter-clockwise direction so as to release said pawl from the plunger in question whereupon regular rotative movement of the ratchetis resumed through the are de termined by the position of the shroud-disk 30.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed instead of. the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, providedthe means stated by any of the following. claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

Ne therefore particularly point. out and distinctly claim as our invention 1 In a platen printing press provided with a throw-oil adapted to shift the bed of said press without interrupting operation of the platen, the combination with an ink fountain mounted above the inking disk of said press, said fountain including an inkfeeding roller, a ratchet wheel connected therewith, an oscillatory arm and a pawl movably attached to said arm and adapted to progressively rotate said wheel; of connections between said arm and the roller frame of said press adapted to operate the former in unison with the latter; means adapted to retain said pawl in inoperative position; and means, independent of said retaining means connected with said throw-off adapted to positively move said pawl from operative to inoperative position and vice versa.

2. In a platen printing press provided with a throw-off adapted to shift the bed of said press without interrupting operation of the platen, the combination with an ink fountain mounted above the inking disk of said press, said fountain including an inkfeeding roller, a ratchet wheel connected therewith, an oscillatory arm, and a pawl movably attached to said arm and adapted to progressively rotate said wheel; of connections between said arm and the roller frame of said press adapted to operate the former in unison with the latter; a spring-pressed plunger adapted to retain said pawl in inoperative position; and means connected with said throw-off adapted to positively move said pawl from operative to inoperative position and vice versa.

3. In a platen printing press provided with a throw-off adapted. to shift the bed of said press without interrupting operation of the platen, the combination with an ink fountain mounted above the inking-disk of said press, said fountain including an inkfeeding roller, a ratchet wheel connected therewith, an oscillatory arm, and a pawl movably attached to said arm and adapted to progressively rotate said wheel; of connections between said arm and the roller frame of said press adapted to operate the former in unison with the latter; a spring-pressed plunger adapted to re: ta-in said pawl in inoperative position; a lever operatively connected with said throwoff, said lever being oscillatory about the of said wheel and carrying projections respectively adapted to engage with opposite sides of said pawl to throw same past said plunger in one direction or the other upon corresponding oscillation of said lever.

4. In a platen printing press provided with a throw-off adapted to shift the bed of said press without interrupting operation of the platen, the combination with an ink fountain mounted above the inking disk of said press, said fountain including an inkfeeding roller, a ratchet wheel connected therewith, an oscillatory arm, and a pawl movably attached to said arm and adapted to progressively rotate said Wheel; of connections between said arm and the roller frame of said press adapted to operate the former in unison With the latter; means adapted to retain said pawl in inoperative position; means, independent of said retaining means connected with said thro-W-ofi' adapted to positively move said pawl from 10 operative to inoperative position and vice versa, and a manually adjustable member adapted to shroud said Wheel and thereby limit the operative effect of said pawl.

Signed by us this 28 day of Aug, 1922.

RALPH S. TYLER.

HERBERT MOGEORGE. 

